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Yum! Brands raises $640M for UN food program

Yum! Brands announced its World Hunger Relief effort has raised $640 million in cash and food donations since the program's inception in 2007.

December 22, 2015

Yum! Brands announced its World Hunger Relief effort has raised $640 million in cash and food donations in the fight against global hunger since the program's inception in 2007. The World Hunger Relief effort is the world's largest private-sector hunger relief initiative, spanning more than 125 countries, more than 41,000 KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants and 1.5 million employees, according to a company press release.

The initiative began in an effort to raise awareness, volunteerism and funds for the World Food Program (WFP) and other hunger-relief agencies.

Yum! also adopted the community of Jinotega, Nicaragua, this year, as part of the company's new Feed the World Ambassador Program, which supports infrastructure improvements at local schools that WFP serves. The new employee leadership program is part of the company's global World Hunger Relief effort and is a way for Yum! employees to fight global hunger and make and to help communities in need.

"We're a company with a huge heart and it's our privilege and responsibility to Feed the World by making a difference in global hunger,” said Greg Creed, CEO of Yum! Brands. "I'm enormously proud of the hard work and passion of our associates and franchisees around the globe who have raised $640 million in cash and food donations, providing 2.6 billion nutritious meals for women and children.”

This year the company created awareness and engagement with a new PSA featuring multi-Grammy award winner Christina Aguilera's recent humanitarian trip to Ecuador where she witnessed the effects of hunger first hand and helped beneficiaries of WFP's nutrition programs. Aguilera has served as a volunteer spokesperson for World Hunger Relief since 2009. She also serves as an "Ambassador Against Hunger' for WFP where she has traveled on several humanitarian trips with them. The 2015 campaign raised approximately $40 million in overall cash and food donations for WFP and others, the release stated.

"I am proud to lend my voice to help raise awareness for Yum! Brands World Hunger Relief effort,” Aguilera said. "We have made great progress in the fight against hunger over recent years, but understand there is still more to be done. My goal with Yum! Brands World Hunger Relief is to inspire as many people as possible to donate to the cause and become part of the solution. Just $1 will provide a school meal for four children in developing countries.”

"Yum! Brands continues to be WFP's leading private sector fundraising partner as we strive for a world with zero hunger,” said Jay Aldous, director global private partnerships for Yum! Brands. "The impact this partnership has made over the years has helped set millions of children on the path towards reaching their full potential.”

In 2007, there were nearly 1 billion people suffering from chronic hunger around the world. Today, this number has been reduced to 795 million people, according to the United Nations. Every U.S. dollar raised by Yum!'s World Hunger Relief efforts goes toward WFP's operations to fight hunger worldwide, mostly to school meals programs.

Yum! also addresses hunger in the U.S. through its Harvest program. Since 1992, the company's brands have contributed more than 183 million pounds of food to over 3,000 nonprofit organizations for those at risk of hunger in the U.S.